Gilmour was cognizant of the fact that it was in for a long weekend as it was. The Lancers had a logistically difficult three-game weekend, commencing with making the trek toward Columbus on Jan. 3 to take on Olentangy Liberty, then returning for an early afternoon clash Jan. 4 with Padua at Strongsville. Or so they thought. Gilmour arrived for the latter under the belief it was a 2:30 p.m. puck drop. Padua was under the impression it was a 4:15 p.m. puck drop. The latter prevailed. Some quality time at Sheetz amid an improvised break and a gritty three periods later, so did the Lancers. Max Ritt’s third-period goal proved decisive, and goaltender Luke Dingwell came up huge, stonewalling the Bruins on two deep looks in the final minute, to preserve a 2-1 Gilmour victory in Great Lakes Hockey League action. Gilmour senior forward & captain AJ Lacroix discusses the Lancers' gritty 2-1 GLHL win over Padua at StrongsvilleHad the helper on the game-winner & logged some good shifts today amid a much-needed W under unusual circumstances with the delay pic.twitter.com/uNVMT1TZtq — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 5, 2025 Considering the Lancers (9-11) had lost at Liberty, 3-0, less than 24 hours prior, had a rough go of it the previous weekend in their Brother James Memorial tournament and had a stint a lot longer than anticipated in Strongsville on Jan. 4, it wasn’t just a timely victory. It was much-needed as well. “As I just told them, usually when you get on a losing streak and you’re playing OK, that win is either a really big blowout or it’s just an ugly kind of win where you just battle,” Gilmour coach John Malloy said. “And I thought we battled well today. I thought that, despite the late night, and despite the late start, the guys gave a good effort today.” It has not been a gaudy light-the-lamp campaign for the Lancers. But when it was required, they found enough punch to reign. At the 6-minute, 31-second mark of the third, locked in a 1-1 dogfight, Gilmour senior captain A.J. Lacroix scrapped for a puck along the side boards and fed Ritt. An initial look got caught in traffic, but Ritt was true gloveside from the right circle for the eventual final margin. Gilmour 2-1Max Ritt at 6:31 pic.twitter.com/98Jicw1KYU — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 4, 2025 “A.J. got it in deep and battled in the corner,” Ritt said. “I just did my job and went in front of the net. I shot, got the rebound and put it right back. I got it right to the back of the net. “We needed this win more than anybody actually thinks. Our coach was talking about battling adversity from the start. (Liberty) was definitely a tough loss. But we bounced back with a good win today.” The Lancers had limited the Bruins (6-10-1) well throughout, as they recorded just seven shots on goal overall and four through two periods. That didn’t mean they didn’t need Dingwell, however. With Padua netminder Josh Kustra pulled for an extra attacker, the Bruins got two good looks. The first came from Gino Boscarello with 28 seconds left. The second came moments later from Max Matejcik. Dingwell was up to the task on both. Considering the sophomore goaltender hadn’t seen a ton of pucks to that point, being locked in to an extent at which he could contribute that effectively in the final minute spoke volumes. “For him to not get that much action — and I think one of the saves he made was a breakaway — then at the end, to have two from the slot?” said Malloy, also referring to turning away Adam Coyne at 2:41 of the second. “Point blank. He came out, and he was aggressive. He wasn’t asleep. That was very good, and very important, too.” Gilmour opened its account at 12:40 of the first. Sean Porter crashed on a loose puck in front and slotted a poker to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead. But not for long, as Padua’s Brandt Boomsma responded 19 seconds later to make it a 1-1 game. Gilmour 1-0Sean Porter at 12:40 pic.twitter.com/m3FzuvGYmp — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 4, 2025 Which is where it remained until Ritt’s heroics in the third. When word came of the unexpected delay, the Lancers’ contingent went to the new Sheetz next door for a snack and to pass the time. “We were talking about it after the first, quote-unquote, game,” Ritt said. “It was like we played two games tonight. That mental stretch of 2 1/2 hours, just sitting around waiting at Sheetz, it helped us all, I think, dial it in a little bit more and realize what we have in front of us. We all sat in that locker room and had a good team meal, and we knew what we had to do. We stepped up.” So what did Ritt have? “I had three snack wraps,” Ritt said with a smile. “That, and my two Vitamin Waters.” The magic formula, from Sheetz to treats for a much-needed win.